whats more important???? - bottle or milk???

ediep wrote: Jason is 16 months old and he drinks water from a sippy cup with no problems and he has for a long time, BUT He will only drink milk from a bottle. I have tried 5 different sippy cups, straw, no straw, he will not take milk from the cup no matter what!!! . It is not because he isn't thirsty, because he will drink an entire cup of water if I give it to him.

I don't think he would care that much if I just stopped giving him a bottle all together, but then I'm sure he won't get any milk.

My question is.....what is more important at this point: weaning off the bottle or making sure he gets his milk?

amynicole21 replied: I asked myself this question MANY times, and I came to the WRONG conclusion I weaned Sophia off of the bottle after a lot of negative comments from her daycare workers and friends. I knew she wasn't ready, but I felt it had to be done. Well, she drinks almost NO milk now (except from me, that is). She is also much more difficult to get down for naps and to sleep at night - the bottle used to do the trick. I really wish I had listened to my heart instead of everybody else. If Jason is ready, he'll tell you. I really don't see a problem with him taking a bottle, though.

Good luck.

kimberley replied: we had the same problem with James and just let him have his bottle and kept trying with the cup every few days. what really helped him was daycare. when he saw all the other kids drinking from a cup, he wanted to also. it took a little while to wean him off his night bottle at home, but i would tell him the bottle was in the car or at grandpa's and he drank from a cup. good luck and let us know how it goes.

jem0622 replied: You asked me what I think...sooo...from experience let me tell you that the earlier you wean the easier it is on everyone.

Nathan (now 4) was very attached to the bottle (and had weaned himself from the boob). I could have taken it away for good when he got thrush really bad, but didn't. So he was weaned at 18 mos. He was only getting 1-2 bottles a day at that time.

Gabe stopped bottles at a year, but he was spilling and DH just said 'bye bye bottles' to ward off losing valuable EBM. He is not a big milk drinker BUT the boy eats yogurt and cheese like it is going out of style. So I am not worried one bit about if he's getting enough dairy.

Get rid of the mindset that dairy has to come from milk. If he gets it from other sources (yogurt with 2% milkfat (and no fat free or sugar free yogurt) and full fat cheeses (raw cheese (slices/chunks) or in mac and cheese) then he is really a-okay.

But...you ultimately are the momma and have to do what you feel you can manage. If you can't manage him screaming at you...then maybe work on weaning slowly. Take away a bottle every several weeks until there are none. Rome wasn't built in a day.

HUGS
Julie

coasterqueen replied: I would have to agree with Julie. If he is getting dairy from other sources, he doesn't need milk. I think our society is so stuck in the mentality that we have to drink milk. First off cow's milk was designed for cows, not humans. *We* can live off of other dairy sources most definately! There are many babies that live without milk and just thrive off of our dairy sources!

But if you really want him to have milk as one of his sources of dairy, then I would suggest weaning him very slowly off of it (edit, I mean the bottle, not milk). Give him the bottle, but keep offering the sippy cup. It is true the earlier you wean them from it the better and bottles are really not good for their teeth

We weaned Kylie slowly off bottles at the sitter. We took one bottle away every few weeks substituting it with a sippy and it took several months, but it did the trick! She was weaned off of them before she was 13 months old.

Just my opinion

amynicole21 replied:
That's true, but my ped said that it doesn't become a problem for their teeth until they are over 2. You still have time if you need it

coasterqueen replied:
Amy, I totally agree with you, she has time. I would never wean a child off of the breast or bottle fast, it's too traumatic for them. I would definately do it slowly. Which would be my suggestion.

booey2 replied: Hi, you will know when he is ready to give up his bottle. Thomas will take millk from cups or bottles but he still has a bottle to go to bed at night and for naps. He will also ask for one if he is hungry but we don't give it to him instead we give food. Matthew (his brother) gave up his bottle only after he got real sick when he was about 3 - 3.5 years old, both poopin and pukin so the doctor said no milk and then I told him that the doc said no bottle at night time, he didn't have one in the hospital because he was so sick he didn't miss it, and that was the last bottle he had. My boys never had anyother security items, ie: soothers, blankies or favourite toys so I was/am reluctant to take away the bottle til they are ready, I just limit it to when they go to bed or are sick. Good luck.

coasterqueen replied: Just be aware that giving bottles of milk or juice or whatever at night *can* cause tooth decay problems. Some are very lucky and don't have this problem, but for others it can be horrible!

booey2 replied:
Yup, heard about that, but we are carefull and he usually brushes then has his bottle then goes to bed and brushes again in the morning. Brushes his teeth that is, he is very attached to his toothbrush these days.

ediep replied: wow! Thanks ladies for the speedy responses. Jason only has 2 bottles a day....one at morning naptime and one at bedtime. He doesn't wake for one at night. I offer milk in a sippy cup during the day, but he never drinks it. This was my new years resolution.....so we have been working on this since Jan 1! We brush his teeth twice a day and he doesn't sleep with the bottle, so I am not worried about tooth decay yet. I think that I may continue to take away one at a time, I guess I will take away with the morning one next, then wait a few weeks until I take away the bedtime one.

~CrazieMama~ replied: Well, in my opinion, I would stop the bottle all together. If he gets the bottle of milk, there is no need to have the milk in a cup. KWIM? Of course the decision is up to you. I took Brianna's bottle away at 7 months old because it was hard when her cousin Maddie was 2 months old and she wanted her bottles. I stopped the bottle cold turkey and never looked back. She transitioned really easy too. But then again, each kid is different too. I hope you have an easy time in whatever decision you make.

Schnoogly replied: Well, we have a pretty unique situation, as Iain has had so much trouble eating solids, and still BFs and drinks tons of formula. He is drinking less, but it is still his primary nourishment as he doesn't really eat that much. He still gets a bottle in the middle of the night most nights, but he's slowly weaning off that one. Some nights he goes without.

I agree with those who said you have time. If it helps him relax to get to sleep, sounds fine to me as long as he doesn't sleep with it in his mouth. That's what we do, I hold him in my lap in his bed and he drinks his bottle and then we lie down together and he comfort nurses to sleep. He won't take any sippy cups but can drink out of a regular cup or a sports water bottle. But only water, not milk or formula.

jen replied: Just a thought, my friend and I found a sippy cup for her baby (10 months), that transitions from a bottle to a sippy cup gradually, it looked like a great idea! She hasn't tried it out yet with her! But we found it at Wal-Mart. Maybe you could put his milk in there and just transition him slowly at your own pace to make a compromise with him! Just a thought. I kind of looks like a cup with two handles on each side and has a nipple and then that can come off and has a mouth piece like the sippy cup has. Maybe it would help him to see it all kind of works the same way in the end!!!

ediep replied:
hhhmmmmm, sounds like it might be worth a try. I have tried about 6 or 7 different cups: gerber, avent, playtex with handles, playtex without handles, disposable, straw type..... It doesn't seem to make a difference to him. If it doesn't have a nipple he does not want milk to come out of it!

I was looking for a cup that has a soft nipple- like spout. I haven't been able to find one.

MommyToAshley replied: I am not sure what to say.... I wish Ashley would drink more milk. It's the ony thing she doesn't like. (She'll eat or drink anything else) For the longest time, she would only take sips of it from a sippy cup. But, she drank everything else from a sippy. I just kept offering it to her, and now she drinks about 12 ounces a day. She never really took a bottle so it wasn't the transition from bottle to sippy for her, I think she just doesn't like milk.

I give her other dairy, but I continue to offer milk all the time.

I know I am not much help, sorry. Good Luck!

A&A'smommy replied: ugh i dont have any advice for you sorry!! Good luck with what you decide to do!! (((hugs)))